Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who famously forgot the EnergyDepartment was one of the agencies he pledged to eliminate, is President-electDonald Trump's choice to become energy secretary, two people with knowledge ofthe decision said.

Perry is likely to shift the department away from renewableenergy and toward oil and other fossil fuels that he championed as Texasgovernor.

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Perry, 66, left office in January 2015 after a record 14 yearsas governor and then launched his second ill-fated bid for the Republicanpresidential nomination.

He was a harsh critic of Trump, even calling the billionairebusinessman a "cancer to conservatism," but Perry lasted only threemonths in the race for the 2016 nomination before dropping out.

Perry later endorsed the Republican nominee and said he'd bewilling to work in a Trump administration.

In his first presidential run, Perry flamed out after a seriesof missteps.

The best-remembered one came during a presidential debate in2011 when he couldn't remember, despite repeated attempts, the third of threefederal agencies he had promised to eliminate if elected. He finally muttered"Oops."

The one he forgot was, ironically, the Energy Department. Thetwo others were Commerce and Education.

Perry has drawn criticism from some environmental activists becausehe is on the board of Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, the company tryingto build a 1,200-mile Dakota Access pipeline that would carry crude oil fromNorth Dakota to Illinois. The pipeline has sparked protests that have madenational headlines.

Perry also serves on the board of another energy firm, SunocoLogistics Partners.

He has been a vocal skeptic on climate change since before hisfirst run for the White House. During his governorship, though, Texas became amajor producer of wind powered-energy.

Perry for years used economic incentive funds controlled by hisoffice to offer tens of billions of dollars to wind producers and othercompanies promoting alternative energy.

This year, Perry joined the board of a stem cell company wherehe underwent experimental back surgery before running for president in 2011.

Perry had previously blamed chronic back pain for his"oops" moment and other gaffes that sunk his once-promising campaign,hinting that the procedure carried out by the Houston-based biotechnologycompany Celltex Therapeutics didn't help him overcome it.

But the former governor told The Associated Press this fall,after joining the company board, that his health was good and he was a bigbeliever in adult stem cell therapy.

Perry recently demonstrated his fitness with a brief appearanceon this season's "Dancing with the Stars." He was the secondcontestant eliminated.